The Moon and the Mob
by xyellowconverse
Summary: It isn't until her Seventh Year that Lena Waters finds out that there's a werewolf attending Hogwarts. When she makes the decision to protect them from their ignorant and prejudiced classmates, the mob turns on her and declares she's the werewolf. Now she has to survive until the next full moon to prove once and for all that she's really human, which isn't going to be easy.
1. The Dream

I've dreamed the same dream for the past three weeks. I'm running in a dark forest. There's some sort of faint glowing in the distance and I'm running away from it. My eyes try not to even look at the ground, like it's something I'm trying to avoid. Suddenly there's a dog. It's the same dog every night. It's the size of a crouched over man with shaggy midnight colored hair. It looks at me before running off in the direction of the glowing light. I chase after it, following it towards the light. I can't keep up with it. It's always faster than me, bounding towards the growing light. Suddenly we're at a cave while the glowing lights move closer and there's something hiding in the dark. It always starts in the shadows but eventually it moves into the moonlight. A wolf, hesitant and scared. It looks up at me with its big amber eyes, as if it's begging me for something but I never know what it wants. The glowing grew closer, flickering until I understood what it meant. Fire.

There were voices, muffled shouts and screams. Their words were unintelligible and I didn't recognize the voices but I recognized them as being angry. The wolf looked at me, begging with its eyes. It couldn't used words but I knew exactly what it was trying to say. "Protect me. Keep me safe."

The fiery glowing continued to glare, lighting up the cave as it drew nearer. The wolf whined, pawing anxiously at the ground. Instinctively, I threw myself over it, protecting it with my body as the voices grew nearer. They were finally close enough that I could understand the words, "Kill the wolf!"

The massive dog stood at the mouth of the cave, guarding the wolf and I from the impending mob. The lights kept growing and the the voices became louder, more determined. The wolf bucked his head into my shoulder in worried distress.

The mob finally arrived at the cave, their torches raising the temperature of the dog growled protectively at the mob, his black shaggy fur standing on end as he bared his teeth. The mob pushed him aside easily, knocking him against the stone wall. He fell to the dirt floor with a defeated whimper.

The mob didn't look like people. They looked more like an army of shadows, almost like a cross between blurred ghosts and dementors. They glided across the ground, their torches flickering in the cold night air.

I closed my eyes, clenching the wolf more tightly as I could feel the shadow mob begin to loom over me. "Kill the wolf!" the shadows yelled once again like a collective battle cry.

And then I woke up, just the same way as I always did every time I had that dream. A light layer of sweat clung to my body and my heart continued to raise. "Damn," I breathed as I ran a hand through my sweat drenched hair. I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was already 6:46 in the morning. My alarm would be going off in fourteen minutes so there sadly wasn't any reason for me to try to fall back asleep.

I rolled out of bed, deciding it made more sense for me to claim the bathroom instead before my roommates woke up. That was one of the biggest disadvantages to having four roommates. We were always clamoring all over each other in the morning to try and get extra time to prepare in the bathroom. Well, all the gossiping and backstabbing that came with living with teenage girls wasn't exactly fun either.

I managed to get in and out of the shower before I even heard any of my roommates began to stir. I'd learn to take quick showers during my Third Year when my roommates discovered makeup. Part of me wished we could go back to the days when the only thing we really cared about before breakfast was washing off the mud. How did lipstick, eyeliner, hair straightening spells, perfume, and vials of blemish remover come into our lives? I just wanted to go back to simpler times.

"Morning Lena," Lily Evans, one of my roommates and my closest mates, greeted me as I stumbled out of the bathroom while trying to button my shirt. "How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged, "I've had better."

"You going to be able to stay awake through Care of Magical Creatures?" she gave me an empathetic smile as the self proclaimed diva of our dormitory, Courtney Schmidt, claimed the bathroom. She probably had to smother herself in makeup so she didn't look like a troll for class. The blokes at school might have thought she was fit but all of her roommates knew what kind of a hot mess she was underneath her layers of paint.

I groaned. I had forgotten that today's first class of the day was Care of Magical Creatures. "Can I just skive off lessons today? I don't have their patience to work with Stoke and I'm tired of getting bit by that damn Niffler. Of all the creatures that we could be assigned, why would Kettleburn think that taking care of a Niffler would be a good idea?"

"Well at least you get to go outside," she pointed out. "Some fresh air might make you feel a little more awake."

I nodded, "Hopefully. If not then I don't know how I'm going to survive all of Stoke's flirting. Seriously, he's almost worse than the Marauders."

She balked at the idea. "No one could be worse than the Marauders. They're the worst of everything. They're -" Her face was beginning to turned as she began her ranting. She could really work herself up when she thought about them.

"I said 'almost'," I reminded her, wanting to stop her before she gained any momentum. If there was one thing that she could rant about all day then it'd be the Marauders, especially James Potter, their arrogant, boyish leader. James had been "in love" with Lily since halfway into our First Year. He'd been constantly seeking out her affection since then. Of course, she wasn't interested and he was a complete moron when it came to wooing her so there wasn't much progress on that front.

"Well, it could be worse. You could be partnered up with Black," she pointed out, recovering pretty well from her almost rant.

I nodded. Roger Stoke, my Care of Magical Creatures partner, was flirtatious but Sirius Black made him look mild. He was a serial flirt who barely ever actually took the time to date anyone that he'd been showing interest in. He was like a puppy. He'd gain interest in one thing but then his attention would be drawn to something else more shiny and he'd lose all interest in the first thing altogether.

"And you have a break before lunch," she continued to remind me. "You could get a nap in then."

I scoffed at the idea. It was only the end of September and our homework load was already off the charts. I already had foot-long essays assigned and it was only going to get worse as N.E.W.T.s drew closer. I'd heard horror stories of what Seventh Year was like but I'd always brushed them off as being melodramatic, exaggerated recollections. Now that I was in Seventh Year I realized that they weren't exaggerated at all. In fact, they were a bit understated.

"Yeah, and maybe I can get McGonagall to give me an extension on my essay recapping our last six years of lessons in her class," I commented sarcastically. "I'm sure that conversation would go well. 'Hey professor, do you think I could turn my essay in late? I decided that taking a nap was more important than my schoolwork. I hope you don't mind.'" I rolled my eyes, shaking my head, "I think her head would explode."

She gave me a playful scowl, "I was just trying to be optimistic. Excuse me for trying."

I waved her off, "Fine, fine, you're excused. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to breakfast before the bacon's all gone. Have fun trying to wrestle Courtney for some time in the bathroom. I think you'd have better like trying to get it away from an angry manticore."

"I'm Head Girl this year," she pointed out. "I'll just give her a detention for being inconsiderate to others.

That was true. Her Head powers might be enough to make Courtney move a little faster but I wasn't sure that the Headmaster exactly had that in mind when he assigned her as Head Girl. "Whatever," I waved her off. "Good luck with the troll. I'll save you some kippers."

She glared at me, throwing her pillow at me as I ducked out of the dormitory, school bag in hand.I always loved to tease her about kippers. She hated them with a fiery passion but that was Lily. Whenever she decided that she didn't like something or even someone then she'd put her entire being into despising it. If there was one thing that could said about her it was that she definitely didn't do anything halfway.

I skipped down the stairs, feeling slightly better about the day. My brain had mostly pushed the dream out of my thoughts and I was trying to think about the day in increment of hours. Only two hours of working with Roger, only five hours until lunch, etc. It really couldn't be as bad as I was worried it'd be... Right? Then again, that's what I thought about Seventh Year and damn, I was wrong. At least it could be worse.

I noticed Sirius chatting up a girl in the corner of the Common Room when I came down. I rolled my eyes at him and the ridiculous giggling harpy in front of him. Lily was right about Roger being a better alternative than him. I guess that proved that I really was right too then. Things really could have been worse.


	2. The Wolf

The moon was already beginning to rise as Roger and I finally finished cleaning the Niffler's cage. We probably would have been done faster if he hadn't been such a moron and listened to me when I told him to take his damn ring off before we opened the cage. As a result of his stupidity, I had to spend nearly two hours persuading the NIffler not to try to bite his hand off in attempted to get his shiny ring. Finally the Niffler was assuaged back into its cage and everyone, surprisingly, still had all their fingers attached. Overall, I guess it was a success. At the very least it could have been worse.

"Nasty little bugger," Roger complained as we headed back towards the castle. "Couldn't we just learn about Recaps or something with less teeth?"  
"It could have been worse," I pointed out. "We could have been assigned Grindylows. They almost drowned Mary last time."

He nodded in agreement. It was hard to think Nifflers were so bad after what happened to Mary MacDonald. Some Grindylows pulled her to the bottom of Black Lake. It took Grubbly-Plank, Hagrid, the groundskeeper, and half of the Care of Magical Creatures N.E.W.T.s class to get her to dry land. Afterwards, our Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, banned all lessons on Grindylows.

"I'm starting to think I should have taken Muggle Studies instead," he commented. "At least then it'd be safer."

"Unless you get electrocuted," I reminded him.

He shook his head, "Is there any classes here that can kill you?"

I thought about it. Herbology dealt with venomous plants, dealing with McGonagall in Transfiguration sometimes felt death-defying and Human Transfiguration was dangerous, and Potions could result in your cauldron exploding. Flying for First Years was obviously dangerous as was Defense Against the Dark Arts. History of Magic was so boring that you could feel like you were dying and that was close enough. Charms could do serious damage if someone's spell backfired and there'd been rumors that you could unleash a deadly curse if translated your runes too badly in Ancient Runes but that was probably just rumors.

"Astronomy's safe," I told him. "You know, as long as you don't fall off the tower. Divination is pretty safe if you don't inhale too many tea leaves and Arithmancy is safe too, I think. Don't know, haven't taken it."

"So pretty much I should just stick with Magical Creatures? At least then I get to spend some time alone with a pretty girl," he commented with a cheesy smile. A wolf howled in the distance, causing him to laugh, "Apparently that wolf agrees with me!"

"Well, you know, it'd probably be safer if you didn't wear a gold ring while you're handling a Niffler," I pointed out.

He scoffed, holding the ring on his finger to his chest, "It's a family heirloom! It's been passed down for generations. It my father's and his father's and his father's before him and -"

"And none of that matters if it's in the hands of a Niffler," I interrupted. "A Niffler doesn't care about anything as long as it's shiny."

The wolf howled again, this time considerably louder than before. It was strange to only hear one wolf howling at the moon. They were pack animals and they always seemed to be howling together. Why could I only hear one?

"We should get back to the castle," I told him, not liking the idea of a wolf moving towards us. "We were supposed to be back ages ago."

"What? You scared of a little wolfie?" he teased, grinning roguishly at me. "What? You hear too many stories about the big bad wolf when you were little?"

I shook my head, the hairs on the back of my neck rising up on end warningly. "I don't like this, Roger. Something doesn't feel right. We shouldn't be here."

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure?" he joked mockingly. "When do we ever get to roam the grounds at night, let alone on a full moon. It's kind of romantic,isn't it?" He waggled his eyebrows at me with playful suggestiveness. He jokingly howled back at the wolf, grinning like an idiot.

My brain slowly began to put the pieces together. "Roger, knock it off! We need to get out of here now! A full moon? Only one wolf howling? It's a werewolf! We need to get out of here!"

He blinked several times at me, slowly ingesting what I just told him. "A werewolf?" he repeated slowly.

The possible werewolf howled again, sounding eerily close. I tried to remember about what we'd learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts on werewolves. Werewolves are people who turn into near-wolves during the full moon. They have no memory of who they are or who anyone else is while they're in their wolf state. They're aggressive and... Only respond to the sound of a mate calling them.

"You just called it right to us," I told him, horrified at the idea.

His eyes widened at the realization, "RUN!"

I didn't need to be told twice. My feet began to scurry, slipping against the wet grass as I raced towards the castle. Roger, having longer legs than I, sped past me. Yet again, I had another reason to wish I had longer longs...

I could hear the werewolf getting closer. Its padded feets muted his footsteps but I could hear the dry leaves cracking underneath its weight and the branches slapping against it as it ran. It was going to outrun me. The realization hit me as I ran through the clearing. It was over two hundred yards to the castle and it was faster than I was. It couldn't chase Roger and me both but I was the easier target. Werewolves were too good of hunters to choose a faster prey over a slower one, even if the slower one was a little smaller.

I kept running, despite my epiphany that it'd probably catch me and at least infect me, if not kill me. There was still a small glimmer of hope that I could survive and I wasn't ready to just lie down and die just yet.

I could see the castle. It was so close that I could see Roger scampering inside through the front entrance. Maybe he'd go and get help. Maybe he'd find some professors to come and try to Stun the werewolf before it got me. I didn't even know if werewolves could be Stunned. I knew that giants weren't stunnable but I'd never heard anything about werewolves getting Stunned or if it were even possible.

I turned my head, trying to see if the werewolf was behind me as I sprinted towards the castle. I couldn't see any wolves but I couldn't see the tree root I was about to trip over either. I hit the wet grass face-first with a thud. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, my forearms already feeling like they were beginning to bruise.

The werewolf seemed to appear out of thin air, lurking at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, watching me. My heart began to pound rapidly and my mouth went dry.

"Oh fuck," I breathed, not sure what to do. It wasn't moving, only watching me. If I ran then I knew it would chase me. If I stayed there then it'd only be a matter of time before it attacked me. Either way I was royally screwed.

I shakily reached for my wand in my back trouser pocket. If it charged at me then at least I'd try my best to hold it off. I didn't want to die there and I didn't want to get infected either. I tried to push away the panic, searching my brain for any information about Shield Charms that I'd learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Or maybe we'd learned about it in Charms? Why couldn't I remember?

The werewolf pawed against the dirt, throwing its head back to howl at the moon. It sounded like some sort of battle cry. It bounded towards me, gaining speed as it neared me. I gripped my wand tightly, flicking it upward, "PROTEGO!"

The werewolf bounced off my Shield, flying backwards and landing hard against the cold ground. I waited for it to get up, for it get angry and try to charge me again. It never did. It whimpered once, lying pathetically on the grass. I'd expected it to be more indestructible, harder to stop. In fact, I'd kind of expected my Shield Charm not to work, especially not this well.

I saw something dark emerge from the trees. At first I thought I was hallucinating. It was the very same dog as in my dreams. It was the same shade of midnight with the exact same gait. I felt the same urge to follow him blindly as I did in my dreams. If it wasn't for the dull pain in my forearms and knees then I'd think this was some sort of dream.

If this was the dog from my dream then was the werewolf the wolf from my dream? Was that the wolf that I was supposedly supposed to protect and save? I definitely was beginning to wish I was supposed to save an actual wolf. So this was what my dreams were telling me to protect? Well, they really should have told me that before I knocked his lights out with a Shield Charm.

The dog barked at me before letting a low growl. It wanted me to leave. I didn't need to speak canine to understand that.

I nodded. It had brought me to save the wolf in my dream and if my dreams were some kind of a skewed premonition (and that was a huge "if") then it wasn't the time to save it yet, which didn't break me up too much inside because I wasn't quite prepared to go head to head with a werewolf.

I shakily got to my feet, taking one last look at the wolf and the dog, reassuring myself that I wasn't dreaming again. Then I turned and I ran like hell back to the castle, not bothering to turn back around and look again.

Once I reached the safety of the Great Entrance; I felt like I was going to vomit. I don't know if it was the after effects of my adrenaline rush or the slightly terrifying idea that a werewolf might have been lurking outside the castle every full moon. If there was a werewolf on the grounds then it was possible that it was a student. Dumbledore seemed the type to let a werewolf attend school, even if no other headmaster would. That's just who Dumbledore was. He was the champion for all the lost causes.

A werewolf in Hogwarts? I hoped for their sake that it wasn't true. Roger wasn't the type to be attacked by a werewolf and not tell everyone of his narrow escape. Everyone at school would probably know about it by tomorrow and that would make it incredibly hard for a werewolf to hide when everyone was looking for him.

Maybe that's why the dog wanted me to protect the wolf in my dream. Maybe seeing the same dog from my dream hanging out with a werewolf was purely coincidental. Maybe I didn't actually see a dog at all. Maybe the adrenaline was just playing with my head. Maybe I was going crazy. Maybe somebody had slipped something in my pumpkin juice at dinner and I was hallucinating. There were a lot of maybes but I knew one thing for sure: I really hoped that I wouldn't be dreaming again tonight.


	3. The Spark

"It was almost eight feet tall," Roger told the students who swarmed around him. "It's teeth were almost an inch long and it looked pure evil."

I rolled my eyes at his embellished story of our run-in with the werewolf the night before. I buttered my toast as I watched him at the Ravenclaw table, making dramatic gestures about how he survived an attack with a werewolf he never even saw.

"Anyone less of a man never would have survived an encounter with the beast," he continued, likely just saying this for the benefit of the Fifth Year Ravenclaw girls watching him, hanging on every word. "I never would have escaped if I wasn't so handy with my wand. It was dangerous, even for me."

"It's a scandal that Hogwarts would even allow werewolves anywhere near the castle," one of the Fifth years exclaimed. "What if it'd been a First Year who'd been out there? How would Dumbledore explain that to the poor kid's family? It's just awful."

Her classmates nodded in agreement. "Do you think they go to Hogwarts?" one of the girls asked Roger with big curious eyes as if he were the expert.

"I figure that's the only explanation," Roger nodded. "With all of Hogwarts' security measures to keep Death Eaters out, I don't see how a werewolf could get on the grounds. Werewolves are all about carnage. They couldn't get through security. It'd have to be a student."

I wanted to interject about how that wasn't necessarily true and how the security measures might have just been for humans and wouldn't affect werewolves in wolf form but I didn't want to put myself in the middle of the conversation. I still needed to collect my information and come up with a plan.

"Do you think Dumbledore knows?" one of Roger's mates, Nick McGregor, questioned, eyeing Dumbledore at the staff table with concern and suspicion.

"When doesn't Dumbledore know everything?" Roger scoffed.

He was right, of course. Dumbledore always seemed to know everything about the universe. If there was a werewolf student then he knew about it. If there was a werewolf in the larger community then he probably knew about it. It was like his beard had magical truth-seeking powers.

"We should go to the Board of Governors!" Nick exclaimed. "We should get him sacked for endangering students!"

I rolled my eyes, pretending to read a copy of Witch Weekly to hide my eavesdropping. The idea of students getting Dumbledore fired was about as laughable as getting Lord Voldemort himself to agree to come over and have a tea party. You'd be about as likely to sack Dumbledore as you would to get the Dark Lord to drink a cup of tea with his pinkies out.

"Wotcher Lena," Lily greeted me as she, Mary, and Marlene arrived at the table.

"Shut up," I hushed her with a hiss. "I'm listening."

She looked a little taken back by my silencing her but proceeded to shrug and take her seat on the bench. Apparently it was too early for even the Queen of Argument to bicker.

"We really need to talk to the Board," one of the girls with their back to me agree. "It's not safe."

"What if they're working with Death Eaters?" one of the Fifth Year girls spoke in a loud, panicked whisper-like voice. "They could bring You-Know-Who right to the castle!"

I tried to choke down a laugh. The truth of the matter was any student could be working with the Death Eaters. If they wanted to expel every student with Death Eater connections then they'd have to kick out half of the Slytherin population.

The terrified silence at the Ravenclaw table, however, told me that they didn't find the idea as ridiculous as I did. One of the girls got into her bag, procuring a piece of parchment, "I'll start writing a petition."

I was completely gobsmacked and, at the same time, completely unsurprised. I folded my copy of Witch Weekly on the table. I knew fear could make people do some stupid things but one mention of Voldemort and a vague threat of Death Eaters and all of a sudden they were racing to action after this whole thing had been brought to their attention by a liar. I wasn't necessarily surprised but I was a bit disappointed.

"Lena, what's going on?" Lily questioned as she reached across the table for the jam. "You look upset."

I immediately stood up, my body reacting before my mind could process. "I'm going to the library," I announced.

"We have class in half an hour," Marlene pointed out.

"This is more important," I replied vaguely, throwing my bag over my shoulder. I walked determinedly out of the Great Hall, ignoring my friends' confused looks. I needed more information if I was going to nip this whole thing with Roger in the bud then I was going to need to know exactly what I was getting into. If I needed to make my case for why the werewolf should be left alone then I was going to need to know more about them.

The librarian, Madam Pince, looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and confusion when I asked her if she could recommend any good books about werewolves. I could tell by her reaction that this wasn't a topic she usually was asked about. Most the requests she got probably revolved around magazines or Quidditch books. I quickly added that it was about an extra credit assignment from the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Drake, and that seemed to end her suspicion. She pointed me to several books that she thought I might find useful.

Two of the books she suggested were nothing better than Anti-Werewolf propaganda. Another one of the books only mentioned werewolves briefly, explaining how to identify a werewolf in wolf form. It was nothing I hadn't heard before. The only book that had any sort of information was the book I'd been most skeptical about. It was called "Hairy Snout, Human Heart" and it was apparently an anonymous memoir of a werewolf. It wasn't exactly the hard facts I was looking for but it was better than the Anti-Werewolf propaganda that tried to claim werewolves climb into people's homes and eat their children.

Despite my initial skepticism, once I started to read the book I couldn't put it down. Before I knew it, I'd spent the entire day in the library pouring over the book. When I finally finished I wiped the tears from my eyes, feeling as if the Knight Bus had run over my heart. I hadn't expected the book to have such an emotional impact. How could it not though? A true story about a werewolf bitten against their will and living in a society that would cast them out, not worse, if they knew what they were.

The book had only reinforced my desire to help. I only wish I knew how to help. It wasn't like the library carried a brochure about what to do in this situation and this situation wasn't even a common occurrence where I could ask someone who'd gone through this for some advice. I was completely on my own without a single idea of what the hell I was supposed to do next.

The only thing I did know was that I needed more information about what Roger and his band of delusional followers were planning to do about the potential werewolf situation. Maybe that really was the only way I was going to find out how to protect the werewolf. Then again, maybe it was a werewolf who'd only been passing through and it didn't need protecting. Maybe it was all the way to Glasgow and out of reach for the potential mob. If that wasn't the case, however, I was going to need enough information to make a plan. And to get that intel, as my mother's spy movies would call it, I needed not to miss dinner.

I looked at my watch, noticing that dinner had already started. I wiped my teary eyes one last time before collecting my books. I dropped them off on the cart for the librarian to reshelve on my way out of the library. Usually I'd put them back myself but I couldn't risk missing valuable time eavesdropping on Roger and his tales of delusion.

I bumped into the infamous Marauders on my way out of the library. My recent reading of prejudices against werewolves made me too irritable with the entire wizard population to even notice how odd it was see them entering the library at the start of dinner, especially since their only member who didn't seem allergic to the library, Remus Lupin, wasn't with them. Due to my compromised emotional state, I just pushed through them without making any observations or theories about why they were there.

I continued my anti-everybody attitude as I made my way to dinner in the Great Hall. It was like everyone disgusted me, whether I knew they had a prejudice against werewolves or not. They all made me a little nauseous.

I took my usual seat at the Gryffindor table with Lily, Marlene, and Mary, wordlessly beginning to help myself to the shepherd's pie. Lily seemed annoyed by my silence, giving me an expectant look.

"So?" She questioned impatiently.

"So what?" I replied shortly, focusing my attention on my dinner. I couldn't hear Roger discussing his plans with his disciples but that didn't mean anything.

"You've been in a horrible mood all day and you skipped lessons to spend time in the library. What gives?" She demanded, not used to having to work to get answers.

I shrugged noncommittally, continuing to focus on my food. I casually looked up to try and see if I could find Roger and his delusional followers but the Ravenclaw table was mostly empty.

"Lena!" Lily exclaimed impatiently. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Lily, just leave me alone," I muttered grumpily, letting my eyes focus on the Ravenclaw table. I didn't see any of Roger's followers so I had to assume they were off plotting together. Maybe they'd already gone to the Board of Governors. Maybe they'd already found out who the werewolf was and...

I shook my head, trying to get these thoughts out of my head. I was getting ahead of myself. They didn't have any information to go off of, let alone enough to track a werewolf while it was in human form. They were so prejudicial that they probably thought the Muggle horror movies were true.

"Lena, what are you shaking your head about?" Mary questioned curiously.

"Nothing," I gruffly replied, watching Roger and his followers enter the Great Hall like a wall of prejudice and half truths. They walked right past the Ravenclaw table. Suddenly I realized that they were headed towards me.

My first reaction was panic. How could they possibly know about my plans to thwart their plotting? I then remembered the fact that they couldn't possibly know that yet. They hadn't even set their plan in motion for me to begin trying to stop it. Then I remembered the fact that I was present for the "attack" on Roger, which made me slightly uneasy.

"Lena," he greeted me, his voice carrying around the Great Hall so anyone could hear him without straining. He looked relatively well, considering that

"Roger," I nodded curtly in reply.

"Some of us _concerned_ students are going to the Board of Governors," he informed me, his loud voice carrying through the Great Hall. "You know, about the _werewolf_."

There was a collection of gasps from throughout the room, ensuring the attention and audience that he was looking for.

I felt as if the entire room's eyes were fixed on me, a sensation that I wasn't fond of.I clenched and unclenched my jaw, "Are you really?"

"I am," he nodded. "I was thinking, since you were there, that you should join us."

I didn't know what to say. Should I accuse him of being a good-for-nothing, prejudiced git? Should I pretend to join their crusade so I could destroy their efforts from the inside? Seeking to give myself more time to decide upon an answer, I decided to play dumb. "I was there for what?"

He looked mildly annoyed but answered in his same loud, calm voice, "For the attack, of course."

I could feel dozens of eyes on me, awaiting my answer. The pressure left knots in my stomach. Unsure of how to proceed, my mouth let out the first lie that it thought of, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

His eye twitched slightly, his teeth gritted together. That had obviously not been the response he was looking for. "Last night, Lena," he reminded me, his voice becoming audibly annoyed. "We were attacked by a werewolf last night."

Committed to my story, I shook my head, "I don't know what you've been smoking, Stoke, but I haven't ever been attacked by a werewolf."

He scowled, "That's not funny, Waters. You know we were attacked last night. You know, after we went to go take care of our stupid Magical Creatures project."

I shook my head again, "No, we weren't. Seriously, what's gotten into you?"

The Great Hall seemed to begin to murmur, doubt beginning to creep across Roger's followers' faces. He shook his head in almost a pleading panic, "Come on, Lena. Don't you remember? There was a werewolf! How can you forget that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you this, Stoke? I don't know what you're playing at but I've never been attacked by a werewolf in my life," I informed him, stubbornly and desperately sticking to my story.

"This must be the trauma talking!" he exclaimed frantically as the murmurs and whispers around us began to increase in volume. "Your brain won't let you remember because it's too traumatizing!"

"Do I look traumatized to you?" I questioned with an annoyed gaze.

"You're lying!" His voice became almost shrill with anxiety. "You have to remember! You're just lying because - Because you're the werewolf!"

The Great Hall seemed to gasp. People who'd been sitting only seats away from me jumped to their feet, retreating away from me in panic as if I was going to infect them. All it seemed to take was an accusation and the entire student body seemed to suddenly believe every word.

I scoffed, "I'm not a werewolf."

"Which is exactly what a werewolf would say!" he exclaimed, becoming empowered by the growing amount of believers. "You monster! You baited me out of the castle on purpose! You planned it! You attacked me!"

I rolled my eyes, wanting to point that if I was a werewolf that he would have known already because he would have seen my transformation. I couldn't tell him that, however, because I had to pretend I knew nothing about what happened that night.

"Mister Stoke, that is quite enough!" Professor McGonagall's stern voice carried out through the Great Hall. "You will refrain from accusing other students or else you will be spending the rest of the day in the Headmaster's office!"

I looked at the staff table to see her on her feet, her hat slightly askew as she stared him down, her mouth visibly pursed together in a thin line. While I appreciated her intervention, it would have been desirable for her to step in before we'd gotten to that point.

He scowled at me before conceding, "This isn't over yet, Waters."

I scowled back at him as I watched him resign to the Ravenclaw table, his followers flocking to him with whispers of support. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew he was right. This was definitely not over yet.


	4. The Flame

Everyone always talked about how popularity was so amazing. No one ever talked about how notoriety sucks.

Ever since Roger had started circulating the rumor that I was a werewolf, it was like I had suddenly became a leper. If I sat down at Gryffindor table then anyone within ten feet of my seat would get up and move. First Years were sitting on the floor of the Great Hall so they wouldn't "catch my disease". In my classes, tables on the opposite side of the classroom were doubling and tripling up with students. I could feel people whisper "wolf" wherever I went. A few times I had blokes feeling particularly courageous howl at me but they were soon silenced by their girlfriends hissing at them to shut up before they made me mad.

I was mad. I had to be. That was the only way that I was surviving this. Having people whisper about me and treat me like a monster hurt like hell. There were times when I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry but I couldn't. I wasn't going to survive this that way. My anger was the only thing that was going to have the energy to put up with this.

As much as I hated having everyone in Hogwarts equally hate and fear me, it wasn't the worst part. I mean, strangers howling at me in the corridor or fleeing from me in fear of contamination was irritating but the worst part was Mary and Marlene.

They ignored me at first after Rodger's little announcement. I didn't blame them for that entirely. I'd become a social leper so being wary of being seen around me. I tried to be understanding of that. It wasn't until our other roommate, Cynthia Howard, decided that she couldn't possibly share a dorm with a "bloodthirsty monster" that things began to get a little ugly.

Cynthia went through the appropriate channels to try and get herself out of rooming with a "monster". I don't know if she tried to get me kicked out of the dormitory or if she just wanted to sleep somewhere else. Either way, McGonagall apparently denied her request before she could even finish her sentence. She was horrified. With the support of Roger and his band of followers, who were now calling themselves "the Alliance of Concerned Entities", she managed to unofficially move out of the dormitory and into an unused classroom.

I was a little annoyed when I watched her pack all of her belongings with the help of a few female Alliance members, or A.C.E. members as they called themselves. She muttered the whole time about having to disinfect everything the whole time they packed. I may or may not have discreetly hit her with a Trip Jinx on her way down the staircase... What can I say? Being universally hated made me a little aggressive.

I hadn't been expecting it when later that night I found Mary and Marlene packing their trunks. Mary refused to look at me, hurrying to lock her trunk and levitate it out of the room. It was like she was afraid that if she stuck around too long then I'd transform into a wolf and eat her. Marlene had the decency to mutter something about how she was sorry and her parents were making her do this as she took her trunk downstairs. How could her parents even know about this? It'd only happened within forty eight hours.

I could hear Lily screaming in the Common Room. I chuckled to myself humorlessly as I listened to her screech about them being traitors and how they were of age and could make their own decisions. I listened to her rant at them for being spineless and betraying my friendship. Good old Lily. The entire school could want my head on a pike and she'd still be there, fighting them off with her barbed tongue.

I looked around the empty dormitory, sighing. Everything was just spiraling out of control. How could everything unravel so much in not even forty eight hours. All it took was for one self important git to say the "werewolf" and suddenly it was starting to feel like I was some sort of social pariah.

I rolled my eyes at Mary and Marlene's bare beds. I could remember meeting Mary on the train at the start of our First Year. That's how Lily and I had met. We just happened to stumble on Mary in the lavatory, crying over how some future Slytherin had called her a "blood traitor" because her mother had married a muggle after her father passed away. Lily and I spent the entire train ride trying to cheer her up. The three of us then met Marlene after we'd all been sorted into Gryffindor. She'd been uncharacteristically shy. All of her friends who she'd met on the train had been sorted into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff.  
I could feel the queasily familiar ball of rage and hurt burn its way to my throat. I tried to choke it down, reminding myself that it wasn't going to help anything. _Calm down,_ I instructed myself. _It's not worth it. Calm down. This isn't going to last forever. You just need to get through the next full moon. You can do this._

"Hey," Lily greeted me warily, interrupting my moment of an internal pep talk. She was looking at me cautiously, which I couldn't blame her for. My usually somewhat good temperament had been incredibly ornery lately.

"Hi," I replied wearily, rubbing my temples.

"I'm sorry," she offered apologetically. "I know this is rough."

I let out an inelegant snort, "That's a bit of an understatement but yeah."

"It's going to be okay," she assured me. "This'll all blow over. Just give it time. Mary and Marlene will come to their senses."

I let out an unintelligible noise of vague agreement. I wasn't sure that even if I wanted Mary and Marlene to come to their senses. I was too angry about their betrayal to even consider forgiving them. The more I thought about, the angrier I became. All those nights of tutoring Mary to keep her from failing potions, all those Hogsmeade trips that we'd gone together because none of us had dates, all of those nights spent eating chocolate and listening to Marlene ramble about her latest crush... They'd thrown it all away because some bloke _who meant nothing to them_ , made a wild accusation about me being a werewolf. How do you forgive that?

"Lena?" Lily questioned carefully. "Le, you're practically turning colors. Are you okay?"

"Fucking dandy," I replied shortly. I immediately regretted the harshness of my words as soon as they escaped my lips. She was the only one who had bothered to stay in my corner and she didn't deserve to be the target of my rampant temper. "I'm sorry," I told her. "I've got a little bit of a short fuse lately."

She gave me a sympathetic smile, "I don't blame you. It's going to be over soon. It'll take some time but this'll all just be a bad memory."

I nodded automatically but I wasn't so convinced. How could someone recover from this?


	5. The Fire

"She's a menace to society!" one of the parents shouted from the middle of the forming mob. The concerned parents were standing in the middle of Professor Dumbledore's crowded office, waving letters that A.C.E. has sent them, warning them of how a dangerous monster was endangering their children.

"She's been sent by You-Know-Who to recruit for his army!" a particularly petite middle-aged mother with a flat face exclaimed. "She's a danger to us all!"

Dumbledore maintain his polite yet unimpressed manner. "My dear Hilda, I understand your concern but I can assure you that Lena is not a threat to anyone's well being."

That might not have been true if this constant harassment didn't stop. Between everyone pointing and whispering, A.C.E., being the target of every rogue jinx and hex, and now this mob, my patience was evaporating quickly.

"Not a threat? Not a threat?!" a lean man laughed harshly and humorlessly at the idea. "That monster attacked my son."

Well I'd thought that man looked like a prat. It turns out that the look was hereditary.

"Richard, we have no proof that Roger was attacked by a werewolf. We both agree that something did attack him that night but the dark can play tricks on the eyes. There is a reason that Hogwarts has rules against being on the grounds after dark. There is also a reason that the Forbidden Forest has its name. Even I couldn't name all the creatures living in there. What happened to Roger was unfortunate but blaming Lena will not improve the matter," Dumbledore informed Stoke in a manner that would reassure any rational human being.

"She tried to kill my son!" Stoke shook his head adamantly.

"If you don't expel her, Dumbledore, then I will pull my children out of Hogwarts," the woman named Hilda threatened.

"Then I shall be sad to watch them leave," Dumbledore replied evenly. "I cannot expel her without evidence. Hogwarts exists to give its students an education and a safe learning environment."

"And if we get proof of her affliction?" Stoke questioned cautiously.

"Then we may revisit this conversation. Until then, Richard, this topic is closed. Now, Lena needs to go to her lessons. As I'm sure you all remember, Seventh Year requires extra effort." For the first time since he summoned me to his office, he actually looked at me. "Go on, Lena. Professor Slughorn is expecting you."

Not needing to be told twice, I muttered a "thank you professor" before shuffling out of the room. So that's where A.C.E. members got their ignorance and intolerance from.

The trip to the dungeon was pleasantly boring and uneventful. Despite being a "scary monster", my classmates seemed to quickly become emboldened towards me. It wasn't a rare occasion that a Sixth Year trying to show off in front of his friends would shoot hexes or jinxes at me so it was nice change of pace to not need a Shield Charm. I would definitely need one when I got to class. I always did.

Some classes were better than other. McGonagall's class was the best because she was the most intimidating and likely to put someone in detention until graduation for hexing people in her class. Slughorn's was one of the worst because he'd never say anything or do anything if he noticed. My Ancient Runes class was probably the absolute worst based on the sole fact that I didn't have that class with Lily. Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were just normal levels of misery.

I opened the Potions classroom door with my wand in my hand, preparing to cast a Shield Charm. It felt like the entire room glared at me as I walked in. It was almost like the entire room groaned, "Oh no, I thought we got rid of her."

Defiantly, I strode through the classroom. I could feel their eyes follow me as I took my seat next to Lily. The tension and unwanted attention was nearly enough to make me feel like I couldn't breathe.

It reminded me of a dream I'd kept having about Roger. It was more of a nightmare actually. He and I would be at Black Lake and I'd be in the water. He kept holding my head down underwater. He'd hold me under until I felt like I was about to lose consciousness from lack of oxygen. Then he'd pull me up so my head was above water so I could take in a few gasping breaths. Before I could get enough air in my lungs to scream or beg him to stop, he'd push my head back under. I guess that's more obvious symbolism in my dreams than Divination talks about.

As I settled into my seat, I casted a nonverbal Shield Charm before I took out my quill, ink, and parchments to start my notes.

I ignored the sympathetic look that Lily shot me as the jinxes and hexes come flying. They bounced off my Shield but I still felt the urge to start keeping a ledger of all the people who kept attacking me so I could get my revenge later. Roger would be on the top of my list. Currently he was the one sending red sparks at my Shield, trying to break the charm. He wasn't even bothering to be discreet. He didn't need to be. He was part of the Slug Club, Slughorn's little club where he tries to bribe the rich, well-connected, and talented students into favoring him by plying them with alcohol. He would never call out one of the club's members, despite how ruthless they were being.

Part of me wished the Shield Charm didn't work both ways so I could give him a taste of his own medicine. I knew it would probably just make things worse but the temptation was still strong. I knew that I could beat him in a duel. I was obviously better at Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts considering that he couldn't break my Shield Charm, despite his adamant efforts.

"Lena, are you even trying to pay attention?" Lily chided, noticing my distraction.

"Sorry, I have more important things on my mind," I replied, still watching as the spells bounced off my Shield Charm, sending sparks flying away. Roger wasn't the only person trying to magically assault me but he definitely was the most determined.

"You really shouldn't let them get between you and your lessons," she pointed out in a gentle reminder. She was trying to be understanding and supportive but she still didn't quite get it. Then again, how could she? People still loved her, despite her taking my side. They just blamed it on her being naive and in denial. I guess that's the advantage of being Hogwarts' sweetheart.

"If I pay attention to Slughorn then I can't make sure my Shield Charm holds. If it doesn't hold then I'm going to get hit with so many spells that I'll probably be in the Hospital Wing for a week," I reminded her in a flat tone. "I appreciate your concern and I'd love to get to listen to him talk about the ill effects of an overcooked Polyjuice Potion but I really just can't risk it." I appreciated her concern but I really wish that she'd sort out her priorities. I could always just copy her notes later when I was someplace safer.

My attention was so focused on watching for any signs of weakening in my Shield that I almost missed the most peculiar thing. I barely noticed the Marauders glaring at Roger. That was odd and immediately drew my attention. The Marauders were the glaring type by nature. When they did glare, it generally had something to do with Slytherins and even then it was usually all smirks and smug looks.

At first I began to question whether they were doing it for me. I quickly shook off that idea. It was arrogant to think that. Roger had probably done something to upset them. Maybe he stole one of their girlfriends. I hadn't heard any gossip about any of the Marauders getting a new girlfriend but I was a little distracted and the rumor mill was the least of my concerns.

When I saw Sirius raise his wand, my interest was peaked. Roger's wand went flying through the classroom and the hand that he'd been previously using to hold his wand started to swell. It was like he was having some sort of allergic reaction.

Sirius got my gaze as I eyed him curiously. I cocked my head to the side questioningly. Where had that came from? He held my stare for a few seconds before abruptly turning away. A few seconds was all it took to realize that I'd been right. I didn't know why but I was convinced that he'd done because of me. He did to stop Roger from harassing me.

I felt a certain mixture of emotions. I was mostly confused and curious. I hadn't spoken to any of the Marauders in length since they went through puberty. Why would they start standing up for me now, especially when most of the mates I'd had since First Year couldn't even be bothered to glare in my defense. There was a tiny glimmer of hope. I hadn't realized how social of a creature I was until everyone started treating me like a dangerous pariah. The idea that someone out there didn't hate me (other than Lily) was an indescribable relief. Then was the feeling of rage at the fact that these people were practically strangers and they'd still stood up for me more than Mary and Marlene.

The feeling of relief was slightly tempered with the fact that none of the Marauders would look at me. They almost looked guilty the way that they were avoiding eye contact. Hm... Curious.


	6. The Mob

I looked at the bathroom mirror in horror. My hair was falling out. No, I wasn't shedding. My hair was coming off in clumps. The sink was already full of fistfuls of hair and I was beginning to have bald spots that would have been easy to spot ten yards away.

I tried every counterspell I could think of to make the balding stop. Nothing worked. My hair kept falling out and I was becoming more and more obviously bald.

This wasn't the first attempt to get me to leave Hogwarts. It wasn't even the most ingenious or cruel tactic. I mean, they'd exploded my cauldron in Potions and sicced several gnomes on me during Care of Magical Creatures. This wasn't the worst but that idea wasn't very comforting, especially considering A.C.E. wasn't done yet.

I took a deep breath, looking at myself in the mirror. I looked like a Muggle going through treatment for cancer. I tried to remind myself that I was more fortunate than any Muggle in that position. This could've been worse. It always could've been worse.

I took a deep breath. I was going to get through this. I didn't have a choice. Well, I'd had a choice when I decided to stand up to Roger Stoke. Even with my bald spots and pariah social standing, I wouldn't let myself regret that decision.

I considered trying to find a hat or a scarf to hide my baldness. I decided against it. I didn't want A.C.E. to get the satisfaction of thinking that they were getting to me. I was going to go to Transfiguration with my head held high, whether I had any hair left on my head on not.

Lily gave me a sympathetic look as I came out of the loo. "Lena, I'm so sorry. This is getting ridiculous. I'm going to go complain to Dumbledore. He'll stop this."

I ignored her, not wanting to fight again about whether we should get Dumbledore involved in something so petty. I was tired of arguing with her about how he was too busy with a war going on to care about a little harassment. "You know, I think the best part about all our roommates running away is that it's so much easier to get into the loo before breakfast," I commented conversationally as I swung my bag onto my shoulder. "Now that Schmidt's gone with Higgins, we don't have to use threats to get some time in front of a mirror."

"You don't have to be so stoic about this," Lily told me, not falling for my attempt to change the conversation topic. "You're allowed to get upset about this."

"Where's my - You should go ahead," I replied casually as I pretended to search my bedside table for anything that'd give me an excuse to be alone. I couldn't handle another conversation about my feelings or trying to explain things to her that she just wouldn't understand. "I'll catch up."

"Okay," she nodded, not likely fooled by my ruse. "I'll see you in class."

I could feel myself deflate after she left. I dropped onto the edge of my bed with a sigh. She was wrong. My lack of reaction wasn't rooted in a need to be stoic. It came from an exhaustion that I could feel etched in my bones. I couldn't let her know that A.C.E. was starting to get under my skin.

"The wolf needs you," I whispered to myself for the fifth time that day. "You don't get to be weak. Toughen up. At least make it until the full moon."

The full moon... I told myself if I could make it that long then A.C.E. and their ignorant parents would have no choice but to accept the fact I hadn't transformed and wasn't a werewolf. I didn't know if that would stop their crusade to sniff out the werewolf but that would be the end of my ability to divert their attention. I just hoped Dumbledore was preparing for when these bigots looked for their target.

I forced myself to stand up and face the day. It was only three or so more weeks until the next full moon. I couldn't let A.C.E. claim victory so early or so easily. Besides, it was Transfiguration, which meant McGonagall would be there to keep me from becoming a target of unwanted attention or hexes.

The Gryffindor Common Room was empty by the time that I emerged from my dormitory. I was thankful for that. I really wasn't up for any Gryffindor A.C.E. members jeering about my hairstyle.

I felt a little like a zombie from those Muggle horror movies Dad liked so much as I walked through the castle. I felt like I needed to sleep for a week. Embarrassment sparked inside of me whenever I thought of it. I'd only been the bane of everyone's existence for a little over a week. I reminded myself that this arrangement would only be temporary. It would be much worse for the actual werewolf if they were ever found out. Their harassment would never end and eventually there would be enough proof to get them kicked out of Hogwarts, whether Dumbledore liked it or not.

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that there was werewolf in the student population somewhere. That helped me have courage, even when I felt a little like a self-conscious zombie. There was someone who needed me to take the brunt of the public scrutiny until their interest died out or Dumbledore found a way to snuff it out. I hoped Dumbledore was working on it.

I almost didn't notice the large, mob-like crowd that was congregated on the stairs. My thoughts were on petty things, like thinking of some way to regrow my hair and figuring out how they'd managed to cause my baldness in the first place.

"You just won't take a hint, will you?" Roger's booming voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I recognized him on the landing above me, as well as several other active members of A.C.E. "We don't want your kind at our school."

There were enthusiastic mumbles of agreement amongst his followers. I counted nearly forty students in this protest. I was almost surprised that they weren't carrying picket signs with profanity-filled libel about me slewed across them.

"Well then I guess it must bite to be you," I informed him before starting down the staircase and towards my lessons. "Can you stage your little protest later? I'm late for class."

I heard the pattering of footsteps on the stone staircase behind me. I ignored it, producing my wand from my pocket and muttered a Shield Charm, " _Protego._ "

I could hear hexes and jinxes bounce off the Shield Charm. It sounded like it was downpour over my head. The sound was almost deafening, like a thunderstorm had formed over me. Some of the stronger hexes sounded like thunder as they ricocheted off the Shield.

I could feel the mob behind me. They weren't able to get through the Shield Charm but they were following as close to me as they could. The sheer amount of force that A.C.E.'s jinxes and hexes caused against the Shield caused it to wear through quicker than usual. I kept replacing the Shield, muttering the charm every three or four steps.

In hindsight, it'd been inevitable that my Shield couldn't hold against the constant assault. There was only one Shield against dozens of students and I was good at Defense but I hadn't been that good. I was lucky that the Shield lasted as long as it did but my luck couldn't hold forever.

Either I was too late to refresh my Shield or A.C.E.'s assault intensified quicker than I expected. It didn't really matter much which had caused it. All I knew was suddenly there was a Shield and then there wasn't. Suddenly there was two hands with very sharp nails against my back, pushing me forward.

I lost my footing and fell forward. I bounced off three different stairs before falling finally onto the ground level's unforgiving stone floor.

The pain was delayed. It took me a moment to realize what had happened. The pain started in my left ankle and then started to radiate upwards, ending at my left cheek. The floor underneath me was cold but offered little relief for the bruises that I was sure were already beginning to form.

The corridor was silent. There was no sound of students gasping in shock or cheers that the wolf had finally been defeated. There were no students rushing to go get Madam Pomfrey or running away to avoid punishment.

At first I dazedly wondered if maybe I'd hit my head on the way down. Maybe I was deaf now. I couldn't bring myself to care. The firm floor hurt but part of me wondered if maybe I should just stay there. The idea of getting back up sounding impossible and unappealing.

I laid on the floor as exhaustion and pain battled for my attention. The pain was worst in my ankle but I could feel bruising on my back and legs. My right hand, my wand hand, ached in a horrible, pulsating sort of way. I didn't even want to know what my little tumble had done to my wand.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" A male voice echoed through the corridor, proving that maybe I wasn't deaf. "Merlin... Who did this? Huh?"

"Lena? Lena, are you alright?" There was another person talking to me. Almost male. Remus Lupin. Why was Remus there?

"Moony, is she still - She got a pulse?" A third voice. Sirius Black? Strange.

"Yeah. I can see her breathing," Remus replied. "Lena, can you hear me?"

"Look at her wand," a fourth voice commented nasally.

"Wormtail, go get Pomfrey," Sirius commanded. "Oi, you! You aren't answering my mates' question! Which one of you cowards did this, huh?!"

"Detention for all you!" the first voice announced. "When I find out who did this, I'll see them expelled! Now get to class!"

"Lena," Remus repeated. "Lena?"

I made a noise in the affirmative. I was there. I could hear them. With the horrible pain threatening to take over, that was about all I felt like I could do.

"Peter's going to get help, alright? Pomfrey's coming. Can you move?" Remus was talking again, low and soft. "Lena?"

"Not sure," I mumble in reply. I tried to adjust my shoulders so I could push myself onto my side. All that resulted was a shooting pain up my left side and moving maybe a quarter of an inch.

"It's alright," the first voice was talking again. James Potter, maybe? "Just stay still. Pomfrey will be here soon and she'll sort you out. Did you see who did this?"

I shook my head once.

"That's alright. We'll figure it out," James assured me. "They won't get away with this."

I didn't respond because I wasn't sure I believed him or even that I cared. The small nugget of anger about my situation had been replaced with an exhaustion I wasn't sure I'd be able to ever sleep away. Part of me didn't care if Madam Pomfrey was coming because I just wanted the ground to swallow me up and be done with it.

"Where is she? Where - Oh dear. What happened?" the aforementioned school matron questioned.

Suddenly I was moving. I was off the stone floor and sliding onto a smoother surface. A stretcher maybe?

"I reckon she got pushed down the stairs," James told her.

"The cruelty of students towards their classmates will never cease to astonish me. She needs to go to the Hospital Wing. I can take it from here, gentlemen. You should get to class," she dismissed the Marauders. "I'm sure Professor McGonagall will be expecting you."

"Are you sure that you don't need our help?" Remus questioned unsurely.

"I'm certain, Mr. Lupin. Miss Waters and I will manage just fine," she insisted.

And then I was moving again. Or at least the stretcher underneath me was. I had the sudden nauseating feeling of levitating. It was preferably to trying to hobble my way to the Hospital Wing upstairs, despite the queasy feeling it gave me.

The trip upstairs felt longer than it was. I focused on ranking where my pain was to give my brain something to do other than freak out. My wand hand was definitely the worst but my left ankle wasn't much better. I wasn't exactly sure if the bruising between my shoulders or the ones on the backs of my legs were worse. Then there was a pain between my temples that felt a little like I'd been smacked with a Beater's bat.

The Hospital Wing smelled like antiseptic and restlessness. The Healer had a tendency to hold students longer than some might deem necessary. I didn't even want to think about how long she would keep me. Part of me was grateful for it. No one was stupid enough to attack me with her around. She was even more sadistic than McGonagall for dishing out punishment.

"Let's take a look at you," she told me, jostling me as the stretcher landed again. "Oh dear. I'm going to give you a Sleeping Draught." I heard her footsteps pattering against the tile as she left to find her potion.

She returned with a small vial of a blueish potion. "Alright, Miss Waters, you're going to want to swallow this down. Trust me, dear, you won't want to be awake for this."

That sounded ominous and I didn't mind the sound of a nap. Weakly, I offered my uninjured hand, wincing as I used the sore muscles in my back. I clumsily took the vial and slowly lowered it to my lips. It tasted disgusting but it did the trick. Almost instantaneously, I could my eyelids grow heavier. They fell closed and I drifted into a thankfully dreamless sleep.

 **A/N:**

 **So yeah, I started this story like years ago. I don't exactly remember how long it's been but I know it's been a while. Then I abandoned it (I have commitment issues with stories, it's an issue I'm working on). When I was clearing out my Google Drive, I found it again and fell in love again. So... I decided to give it another go.**

 **Sorry it's taken so long for an update! I promise the next one won't take years.**

 **Evan**


	7. The Battle Plan

I woke up some time later, feeling better rested than I had in weeks. Who would've thought that it would take getting admitted into the Hospital Wing to get a good night's sleep?

"Zank Merlin! I worried you would never wake!" I heard the familiar French accent of my mother. "You slept for many days."

"Maman?" I yawned as I sat up. All the pain I'd felt before the Sleeping Draught was now replaced by just a general soreness. "What are you doing here?"

She began to ramble in French, slipping into her native tongue. I could tell she was working herself up but my French was rusty at best. I only got to practice it when I went home for the holidays and I hadn't gone home much since she got remarried.

"Ralentissez, maman. S'il vous plaît," I pleaded with her. I'd never understand what she was trying to say if she didn't slow down.

"Madalena, ma chérie, what 'appened? Who did zis to you? Zey will pay for zis! Tell me what 'appened! Oh, your 'air! Such cruelty!"

"Maman, I'm fine," I insisted. "You shouldn't have troubled yourself to come down here. I'm fine. I'll take care of this."

She shook her head, dark curls bouncing. "You tell me! You let your maman fix zis for you!"

"Miss Waters, I'm glad to see you've rejoined the land of the living," Madam Pomfrey greeted me with a kind smile. "How are you feeling? How's the pain?"

"I feel better," I told her honestly. "I'm mostly just a little sore."

"Unfortunately, that's to be expected. I'm glad that you're feeling better, though. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall have been waiting for you to wake up. They want to talk to you about what happened at the stairs. Are you feeling up to talking to them?"

I nodded because telling her no would've made Maman think I was in worse shape than I was. "I guess so."

"My brave girl," Maman cooed at me. "Who did zis 'orrible things to you?"

"I don't know," I told her. It was the truth. I couldn't name half of the students that'd been on the stairs, let alone identify which one had pushed me.

She let out a distraught sound that reminded me vaguely of an upset mother hen. "Zis 'orrible school! I wanted you to go to Beauxbatons for a reason! Zey cannot keep you safe 'ere!"

"I assure you, mademoiselle, that it is our greatest priority is the safety of our students." Dumbledore. He'd shown up quicker than I'd expected, sweeping into the Hospital Wing. He wore long, flowing wine colored robes and his usual half-moon glasses. "Miss Waters, how are you feeling?"

"Better than before," I replied honestly. "It seems Madam Pomfrey has taken good care of me."

"Well, I wish she hadn't had to," McGonagall commented in her usual emerald robes, her lips pursed together in a thin line. "Miss Waters, Professor Dumbledore and I would like to talk to you about the incident. Do you feel up to it?"

I nodded, trying not to feel worried about horrible I must've looked. Pomfrey asking me if I was up to talking was to be expected. McGonagall, however, wasn't usually the most nurturing type. "I'm not sure how much I can tell you but I'll try."

"I'd like to begin by asking you to recount the incident as best as you can remember. Just tell us everything you can remember, no matter how small," McGonagall prompted, not unkindly.

"I was on my way to your class, Professor. I was walking alone when I get to the staircase. Roger Stoke and his following was there. You know, A.C.E. or whatever those idiots call themselves. I couldn't give you a full list of who was there. Sorry," I told them apologetically.

"A.C.E.?" Maman repeated. "What is zis?"

"It's a, well, I wouldn't call it quite an organization. That might sound like they're something legitimate and they're not. They call themselves the 'Alliance of Concerned Entities' but perhaps bigots would be a more fitting term. They showed up on the stairwell because they seemed to be frustrated that they aren't making any progress getting me kicked out using the official channels. They said that my 'kind' didn't belong at this school."

"Your 'kind'?" Maman parroted. "I do not understand. Zis is because you are part-French?"

I laughed and shook my head, "No, Maman. They think I'm a werewolf."

Her eyes bulged, "What?! That is ridiculous!" She turned her attention to Dumbledore with a sharp look, "'ow did you let zis 'appen?! My daughter is not a werewolf! 'ow could you let zese people say zis?!"

"My dear Mrs. Waters, I understand that -" Dumbledore began to try to pacify her.

"Duchamps," she corrected. "I 'ave remarried."

"Mrs. Duchamps," he began again. "I understand that this is very distressing for you to hear but I must ask for your daughter to continue her account of what happened on the stairs. It is very important for her safety that Professor McGonagall and I understand what happened so we can find the best way to keep her safe."

Maman huffed, her face an unflattering flushed color. Still, she waved me on to continue, "Go on, ma chérie. Tell zem."

I nodded before obliging,"I tried to ignore them. I just kept putting up Shield Charms and going on my way to my lessons. The charms held for a while. It was just too much pressure on the Shield, too many people flinging hexes and jinxes against it. Eventually it broke and someone pushed me down the stairs. I didn't see who did it."

"What happened then, Miss Waters?" McGonagall asked, her lips seeming to disappear as she pursed them tighter together.

"I landed on the ground. I don't know, it was like everything went silent. I was a bit dazed, I guess."

"Is that when Mr. Potter showed up?" Dumbledore questioned.

I nodded, "Sometime around then. I'm not sure how long it was until he got there with Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew."

"And you 'ave no idea who pushed you?" Maman asked.

"It was a woman, I think?" I admitted.

"She said something?" McGonagall furrowed her brow.

"Erm no. No, whoever pushed me just had long nails. It could've been a bloke but less likely," I shrugged and then winced as I used the sore muscle in my back.

"I find zis all to be ridiculous!" Maman exclaimed, crossing her arms. "Zis school is a joke! Students attacking other students? Ze school allows my daughter to 'arassed because of a lie? She is no werewolf! I should pull 'er out of zis place!"

"Maman, please calm down. And please make idle threats. You know I'm considered an adult now. You can't pull me out of Hogwarts without my consent and you won't ever have it," I informed her as calmly as I could. The soreness I was feeling seemed to only intensify and I could feel myself losing my patience.

"Excusez-moi?" she scoffed. "You were attacked! You should not want to stay 'ere!"

"This is my school and my Seventh Year. I'm taking my N.E.W.T.s in a few months. I'm not transferring mid-year and I'm not running away," I retorted evenly. "I won't have prejudiced idiots run me off."

"Oh? But you will stay at zis school where your classmates try to attack you?" She looked incredulous at the idea. "Madalena, zis is madness!"

"What do you think happens if I run away, maman? They will only take it as a confirmation of the rumors. Rumors like this would follow me the rest of my life. I'd never be able to find work in England or possible anywhere else in Europe." The more I spoke, the more confident I felt in my position. I wouldn't leave Hogwarts, I couldn't. "I won't give Stoke and his lackies the satisfaction of thinking they could get to me."

"I will not watch zis!" she exclaimed. "I will not watch you 'urt yourself, ma chérie! I cannot!"

"Then perhaps it's best if you go," I suggested, steeling myself against her inevitable waterworks. "You should get back to the children."

She sniffled, tears beginning to leak out of her blue eyes, "Madalena, you will regret zis."

"Please go, maman. I appreciate you coming to see me but there's nothing you can do for me now. Give the twins my love and tell Mathis hello for me. Please. You can't change my decision. You'll only upset yourself more the longer you stay."

She stood fluidly with as much dignity as she could muster, "I can see when I am unwanted. I shall go. I 'ope you will at least try to take care of yourself. Your brothers would be very disappointed if anything 'appened to you."

There was a sense of relief that washed over me when she left. I didn't want to fight with her and I didn't want to explain to her all of the circumstances. Now that I had Dumbledore almost alone, I could finally get to business.

"Professor Dumbledore, I think I'd like to speak with you about how to go forward from here." It was the first time I'd probably ever address the headmaster without needing to be prompted. Usually I found him a little too important and intimidating to seek out. Given the circumstances, I felt a little less concerned with being polite.

"Yes, I imagine you might," he nodded in agreement. "It may perhaps be a little overdue."

I felt like that was an understatement but I didn't say anything about it. It was just as much my fault for us not having this conversation as it had been his. Lily had been pestering me for days to go to him but I'd refused.

"I understand that you must be frustrated," he spoke as he perched on the arm of the armchair that Maman had just been occupying. It was a more casual view of him than I was used to.

"I am," I agreed. I was frustrated. I was frustrated that Stoke was a fear-mongering bigot and that people were stupid enough to flock to him. Still, it didn't productive to be frustrated so I was trying not to focus on that. "It's a very frustrating situation but I - I think it would help if I knew what the plan is for this."

He hummed and nodded, "Yes, I suppose it might. Miss Waters, I wonder if I might ask you why you tried to get these rumors refuted. Did you know that once I had a student come to me to ask help her dispel a rather nasty rumor that her father was a flobberworm farmer. Yes, she was quite distraught about it. I would imagine that this rumor about your lycanthropy might be a bit more upsetting than rumors about a father's occupation. Still, to my knowledge, you never asked for any help from any of the staff to disprove it. Would you tell me why?"

I looked around the Hospital Wing. There was an empty chair not even ten feet away but no one in our corner of Hospital Wing. The closest person was dozens of yards away. It was probably safe to at least be a little candid.

"I'm sure you know, Professor, that Roger Stoke started this rumor when he claimed we were attacked by a werewolf and I said his story was bullocks. The fact is, though, that his story wasn't. There was a werewolf that he and I... encountered when we were working on our Care of Magical Creatures project. I'll have you know, sir, that I think he's an idiot. Still, I couldn't fault his logic when he made the argument that a werewolf wouldn't have been able to get through the different protection spells," I explained. "I wouldn't believe that the protection spells wouldn't keep werewolves out, especially not with the rumors that werewolves and the like are being recruited for the other side in this war. The other thing that makes sense is there's a werewolf that was inside the barrier before they transformed. That means there's probably a werewolf in the student body."

He nodded slowly, "Yes, I believe that would be the most sensible explanation to arrive at, given the facts."

I took that as confirmation that there was student who was a werewolf. That prompted me to continue, "So I figure if there's a werewolf here then it's probably best to let the hysteria die out on its own. If they think I'm a werewolf then they aren't going to be looking elsewhere. They'll see at the next full moon that I'm not a werewolf and then ideally all of this goes away. Or at least it loses traction. Stoke is the one who started this mess. It's his word that he saw a werewolf that's caused all of this. He accuses me of being a werewolf and when there's proof that I'm not, he'll lose his credibility. Am I not right?"

"I believe you are quite bright, Miss Waters, and very brave. I see the Sorting Hat made no mistakes putting you in Gryffindor House, though Ravenclaw might've been good fit as well."

"And I speak on behalf of my house when I say that I an glad the Sorting Hat saw fit to put her in Gryffindor. This may be a delicate situation but surely there must be a better way to assure her safety," McGonagall spoke up. She'd stopped frowning, which I took to be a positive sign. "Mrs. Duchamps was not entirely wrong to say that this never should've been allowed to happen. With her wand broken, it is even more important to put security measures in place."

"My wand's broken?" I questioned, frowning myself. "What do you mean that my wand's broken?"

"I am afraid that it was broken during your fall," he explained, sounding apologetic. "I have already spoke to Mr. Ollivander and he has agreed to come to the school in the next few days to replace your wand."

I felt the worst kind of naked: defenseless and vulnerable. "Sooner is better than later in this case, Professor."

"Of course. I'll write to him tonight and ask him as soon as he can. We'll need to get you a wand before Madam Pomfrey releases you. As for your concern, Professor McGonagall, I have spoken to the other professors about the importance of taking a proactive role in keeping violence out of their classroom. When she is not in lessons, I believe her fellow Gryffindors have volunteered to keep her safe. 'Safety in numbers' or so the saying goes. While in the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey has measures to keep her safe from any unwanted attention."

"And we are not going to hold this A.C.E. group accountable? She has been attacked," McGonagall pointed out disapprovingly.

"I believe Mr. Potter has rounded them all up for detention for the rest of the term and I will send letters to the parents of all known members notifying them of the incident. Unfortunately, Miss Waters may be right about letting things die out on their own, this group included."

"It isn't right," she shook her head, frowning again.

"But it's the right decision," I insisted. "It isn't for long. A.C.E. will lose its momentum when there's proof I'm not a werewolf. If you shut them down prematurely, they'll only think you're hiding something or someone."

"I do not like it but I cannot argue. It is a very selfless thing for you to do, Miss Waters. The certain individual that you are protecting will be very grateful for this," she told me. "I am sure that I do not have to tell you how life ruining this could be for that individual for their condition to become public knowledge. I would like to thank you on their behalf for your protection."

"I think that we should leave Miss Waters to rest. I am afraid that Madam Pomfrey will be upset we have stayed as long as we have. Have a nice night, Miss Waters. I will write Mr. Ollivander when I get back to my office." He stood up and gave me what might've been considered a fond smile.

"Rest up, Miss Waters. I imagine that things are only going to get worse as the full moon approaches. You'll need your strength," she warned me.

"Yes, Professor." Before the pair disappeared, I was struck with a final thought. "Oh, and Professor Dumbledore? I know that there's probably going to be a bit of a spectacle on the full moon. You've probably already thought of this but we should find a way to keep it pretty small. Or at least, you know, find a way so the actual werewolf won't raise suspicion when they disappear for the night."

"A good idea, Miss Waters. I will see to it. Rest now," he told me with a nod.

Once I was finally alone, I let out a sigh of relief. I laid back against the hospital bed's pillow. It might've been fluffier than the ones in the dormitories, which seemed fair because the least they could do for sick students is not skimp on the pillows.

I closed my eyes, urging myself to sleep. McGonagall was right that I needed it. I probably needed it already. Magic was nice and all for Healing but nothing replaced good old fashioned rest, or at least that's what Pomfrey always told me. Besides, the more sleeping I did that she noticed then I would probably get discharged faster. I couldn't be discharged without a wand.

A wand... The idea of being so vulnerable without one made me feel anxious. It wasn't safe to be without one with the war going on. It was even less safe for me to have one because of A.C.E. I'd barely seen Madam Pomfrey since I'd woken up. How was she going to keep me safe throughout the night if she was busy elsewhere?

I didn't understand how my wand could've broken in the first place. How hard had I fell? I examined my wand hand. I immediately wish I hadn't. My palm was covered in a network of ugly scars. I groaned and wrinkled my nose. Just great. What a lovely memento from this entire disaster.

"It is incredibly difficult to get wand slivers out of skin," Pomfrey explained to me, seeming to appear out of thin air. "You have to remove them by hand. It is a tedious process but, other than the scarring, your hand will make a full recovery." Her piercing eyes raked over me, "What is your pain? Would you like a potion?"

"I'm mostly just sore. I don't think it needs anything," I replied.

"Sleeping Draught?" she offered. "You need your rest."

I nodded, "If you don't mind."

"'Mind'? Miss Waters, administering potions is part of my job," she informed me in a snipped tone. "Just a moment please." She jaunted across the floor, her shoes clacking against the cobblestones. She opened the apothecary cupboard and brought back a vial that had the same blue tinted potion. "Drink the whole thing."

I didn't need to be told twice. I downed the draught, hoping that if I drank it fast enough that I wouldn't taste it. It didn't work but it seemed to appease Pomfrey, who took the empty vial and set off again.

 _Please don't let anyone attack me in my sleep_ , I thought to myself before the potion took effect and I drifted to sleep.

 **A/N:**

 **In writing this chapter, I feel like I have to apologize for two things: Maman's accent and Dumbledore. I'm HORRIBLE at accents. I tried to base it a bit off of Fleur Delacour's. Hopefully it isn't terrible. If it is then I'm sorry. Second of all, writing Dumbledore has always evaded me. I'm not particularly fond of the character and he never is quite right. Hopefully he isn't too painful to read.**

 **I know this chapter is very Marauder-less but I felt like there was too much going on with Dumbledore and Lena finally talking about the situation for the boys to show up. Next chapter, I'll make up for it. Promise.**

 **Evan**


	8. An Unexpected Alliance

I was pulled out of my Sleeping Draught induced slumber by what sounded like some sort of Muggle engine. I jolted awake and sat up. The Hospital Wing was dark with only a few lamps on for light. There didn't seem to be any kind of Muggle machine anywhere in sight.

The noise continued. It reminded me a little bit of my step dad, Mathis, and his snoring when he had a cold. It was too loud, too close to be coming from another bed. The only thing that was close enough was the chair against the wall.

Experimentally, I picked up my pillow and threw it at the chair. It only made it about a foot before the chair before it bounced off of something. The noise abruptly cut off with a loud snort and there was a sudden flash of something on the floor that looked like shoes.

Was there someone in the chair? I wasn't naive enough to think someone couldn't turn themselves invisible with magic. What were they called? Invisibility cloaks?

I stood up, my legs a little wobbly and sore from lack of use. I teetered across the room, unsure of what if I'd find. If someone was hiding to attack me then why were they waited? Had they fallen asleep waiting for their moment?

I kicked at the chair as hard as I could, toppling it over. There was a loud grunt and a silvery material pooled around the pant legs and shoes of a school uniform.

The legs started moving, the snoring stopping. I yanked the presumed Invisibility Cloak off of my late night visitor. Peter Pettigrew.

"Oh erm hello?" he offered squeakily. He was notoriously awkward with women, something I'd always found funny when he spent so much time with Sirius and James. Well, at least Sirius. James' reputation with women had a big black mark from not getting Lily to give him the time of day.

"What are you doing?" I questioned as he sat up. I had trouble believing he was there to Jinx me in my sleep when he was one of the people who'd helped me after the stairs.

He began stuttering out his excuse as his face flushed red in the candlelight. He scrambled forward to grab the Invisibility Cloak and threw it behind him.

"Why are you here?" I rephrased my question.

"I - I'm - err -" he stammered, stumbling over his words.

I stared at him expectantly. If I hadn't known any better then I would've thought he wasn't capable of intelligent speech.

"Oi, Wormtail, I told you not to disturb her. Pomfrey said she needs rest." Sirius' voice suddenly sounded, causing him to startle. Sirius came strolling out of the shadows. How was I supposed to keep myself from getting surprise attacked by A.C.E. if I couldn't stop getting myself crept up on by Marauders?

"I didn't!" Peter insisted. "I didn't do anything!"

"Then why does she know you're here?" he challenged. "You were supposed to be discreet."

I snorted, "Discreet? I'm pretty sure that you could hear his snoring in the Astronomy Tower."

The reproachful look he gave Peter made me wince. "You were supposed to stay awake. Merlin, what good would you've been if Stoke or his cronies attacked her while you were asleep?!"

"I would've woke up," Peter insisted weakly, still on the floor.

He rolled his eyes, "Alright just go back to the dormitory. I'll take the shift. And don't wake up Prongs and Moony on your way in."

Peter nodded eagerly before scrambling to his feet. He gave me a suspicious look before scurrying away, causing me to roll my eyes. What had _I_ done to to be suspicious? I wasn't the one lurking around hospital beds in an Invisibility Cloak.

"Get back into bed. You're supposed to be resting," Sirius told me as he set Peter's chair back on its legs.

"No," I refused.

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me why you're here and why Pettigrew was supposed to be watching me sleep."

There was a flicker of amusement that danced across his features. "Love, I don't really think you're in much of a position to be making demands."

I crossed my arms in front of me, suddenly aware that I was a little under dressed in the hospital pajamas. I tried not to think about it. "Oh, I wouldn't count me out just yet, Black."

He grinned, "Scrappy little thing, aren't you? Alright, alright. Get in bed and I'll explain."

I told myself that I was only getting back into bed because I needed to conserve my strength. It didn't make sense to be standing when I was tired anyways. I wasn't giving into his demands. I was just being logical.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he picked up the chair and moved it closer to my bed.

"I said I wanted answers, not a Healer," I informed him as I pull the blankets over me to cover up the fact I wasn't wearing a bra. "Why are you here and why was Pettigrew supposed to watch me sleep?"

"Because you don't have a wand and I don't trust Stoke or his cronies not to give you a little nighttime visit."

He'd retaliated against Stoke that day in Potions. He and his mates had gotten Madam Pomfrey to me after the stairs. Then here he was again, trying to keep A.C.E. from harassing me. "Why?"

"'Why'?" he repeated with almost amusement.

"Yeah, why? Why do you keep trying to keep me safe? What's it to you?" I questioned.

"Are you always so skeptical? You seem kind of suspicious of me."

"My past couple of weeks haven't exactly inspired a lot of faith in humanity," I replied dryly.

He nodded with a humorless chuckle, "Fair enough, I reckon. Well, I promise you don't need to be suspicious of me. I've got no intention of harming you."

"Then what is your intention?" I pressed curiously.

"To get you to the next full moon."

I blinked at him. I hadn't expected that. I'd expected some bullocks story about Gryffindors sticking together or some stoic speech about defending the weak.

"Why would you do that?" I questioned. "You don't owe me anything."

The corners of his mouth quirked upwards, "You really have gotten cynical, haven't you? Guess I can't blame you for that, though. Still, we're going to keep you safe until the full moon. That's the only way to put this rubbish about you being a werewolf to bed."

He was full of surprises. "And how do you know I'm not a werewolf?" I challenged.

"Well, I reckon there'd probably be more signs."

I smiled despite myself. He was smart enough to work it out but two of my closest mates were quick to label me a lycanthrope. Here was a bloke that didn't owe me anything, who hadn't properly spoken to me since puberty and he was signing up for… protective detail? My best mates wouldn't even stay in the same dormitory as me.

"You're skeptical," he nodded. "That's alright. Don't blame you but you're going to need some help to get through this. Might as well be us."

"And who's this 'us' you keep spouting on about, then?" I already knew the answer but I still felt a little like being difficult.

"My mates. They want to keep you safe too."

"Why? What does it matter to you?"

"You don't deserve this, Lena."

I looked at him with surprise. He hadn't ever called me by my first name. There'd been very few times he'd called me by name at all but it'd always been by my surname. I hadn't even been sure he knew my first name.

"I know you're a bit reluctant but at least give us a chance. You don't need to do this alone, you know? We can get you to the full moon and this'll be all over."

"Will it?" I kept pushing myself to the full moon but I felt pessimistic that it would fix everything. I wasn't convinced that this whole ordeal would ever truly be over.

"Only one way to find out, I'm afraid. But if it doesn't fix it then we'll still stick around," he assured me, sounding too sincere.

"You'll get tired of it," I told him. "It's… wearing."

He shrugged, "We'll manage."

"I'm still not sure this isn't a weird dream," I admitted. "It's just… too bizarre."

He gave me a smirk that was trademark Sirius Black, "Do you dream about me often?"

I threw my second pillow at him, which he easily caught. "Prat," I accused but I couldn't help the smile that was growing across my face.

"Ah, there's a real smile. See? Maybe having me around isn't so bad."

I knew I couldn't afford to be turning help away. It wasn't like I had a whole slew of people trying to come to my rescue. As much as my pride didn't want to admit it, I probably needed rescued.

"Okay fine. You lot can do whatever. Just no more of this Invisibility Cloak bullocks, alright? It's creepy and I'm already enough on edge."

"Well that might be a bit of an issue, considering I don't see Pomfrey letting us loiter around all day."

"'All day'?" I repeated. "How long do you plan on - Wait, have long have you guys been watching me from under that Cloak?"

He ducked his head, "Let's just say I had no idea your mum was French."

"You were here for her visit?" I was suddenly glad I hadn't said anything too embarrassing while she was there.

He shook his head, "Not me. Pro - James was here for that. He said you were very brave."

"Okay yeah, well that's the end of that. No stalking me without me knowing you're there. It's too weird."

He nodded, "I suppose that's fair."

"And I guess I should assume if Potter was around for my chat with my mother then he overheard my conversation with Dumbledore?"

He nodded and gave me a glimmer of a smile, "Yeah."

That meant the Marauders knew there was a werewolf in the student population. They knew that I was doing what I was doing to protect the werewolf and they wanted to protect me. I was a little astounded by that.

"I think I've underestimated you lot," I admitted as I leaned back against the headboard. "Or this is somehow a giant plot for Potter to try to get on Lily's good side. I think I'd rather believe you deserve more credit than I've given you, though. It's less likely to end up with Lily murdering him."

He chuckled, "I'm sure James is happy at the prospects of getting more time with Evans but I assure you it's more a perk than a reason. You aren't the only one capable of compassion, you know."

"Maybe. I was pretty sure most of the school had showed me I was one of the only ones who had compassion for werewolves, though."

"I can see where you might've come to that conclusion. It's not just the werewolf we're protecting here, though. Mobs have a tendency to work themselves into frenzies and people can get hurt."

I smirked, though it wasn't nearly as smug as his, "Are you saying you're concerned with my safety?"

"Maybe but don't let it go to your head, Waters. I don't think arrogance would be a flattering look on you."

I was surprised by the easy conversation. Sirius wasn't exactly the type to have a conversation with a girl without ulterior motives and we hadn't chatted in ages. Even before puberty, we hadn't been too friendly.

"Well I suppose I can't have that then, can I? Lily would just blame you and your mates for it anyways. She'd say it's your arrogance that's contagious," I replied casually. "That would make for a very tense couple of weeks before the full moon if we're all supposed to work together to keep me alive."

He nodded with mock solemnity, "And it'd make James pout, which would make for a really long couple of weeks."

"And we just got Lily to stop calling him a toerag and I'd hate to ruin our progress so I guess I'll have to keep my ego under control."

"It'll be rough, I'm sure, but you seem like a tough girl. You can do it."

"If I must," I sighed. Or I tried to sigh. It came out as a yawn.

"You should go back to sleep," he suggested. "Your body' still recovering from your fall. The sooner you're rested, the sooner we can spring you from this place."

I groaned, "I'm fairly certain I've already slept like three days."

"Well try for a fourth and see how you feel. It might be just what you need."

I hummed in agreement. He was probably tired of having to talk to me. He hadn't expected that babysitting me meant entertaining me. He'd expected a quiet night watching me sleep and thinking about whatever blokes like him thought about.

"'Night, Lena," he told me as he moved his chair back to a more respectable distance, back to where Peter'd had it.

"'Night," I mumbled in reply as I set my head back on the pillow and readjusted my blankets. I hadn't been exaggerating (too much) when I said I'd slept for days. Still, despite that, I managed to fall asleep almost immediately. I barely even had the time to hope I didn't drool in my sleep.


	9. A Good Beginning

"Lily, stop," I told my best mate wearily as she started spitting insults and curses at James, who was being surprisingly calm about it. I really had expected for her to come around pretty quickly when the Marauders officially offered their assistance against Stoke and A.C.E. Apparently her distrust of James was a habit he just couldn't break. "Retract your claws and be reasonable, yeah?"

"I don't like it," she announced, glaring at the offending parties. "I don't trust them not to make it worse."

"We wouldn't do anything that would risk making things worse for her," Remus insisted adamantly.

"Sorry, Evans, but it's not really your choice," Sirius commented, probably not helping his argument. "I'm only interested in how Lena feels about it. It's her safety we're concerned about."

"I don't mind it," I assured Lily. "Honestly, it can't hurt anything."

"You say that now," she muttered. She peered at Remus, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Remus nodded sharply, "It's the best option."

She seemed to begrudgingly accept the decision, "Fine. Obviously I'm outnumbered so we'll try it your way. If this backfires then it'll be the end of it, alright?"

"Alright," I allowed. "But it'll be fine."

"Better than fine," James agreed.

"So when is Pomfrey finally releasing you?" Sirius asked, changing the subject.

"Tonight, I think. Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours," I replied. Or at least I hoped it wouldn't be. I was beginning to lose my mind staring at the same bloody walls.

"The sooner you get out of here, the better. You've missed too many lessons as is and N.E.W.T.s are approaching fast. Have you done the assignments I've brought you?" Lily asked, going into her little pragmatic Mum mode.

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, Lily."

"And you did your reading?"

"Honestly, I liked you better before your N.E.W.T.s-induced neuroses kicked in," I informed her bluntly.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh while James snorted. She leveled them both with a reproachful glare. James dropped his gaze but Sirius was unrepentant.

"I'm not neurotic," she retorted. "I just want to make sure you'll be ready."

"I'll be ready but it's not for months. You need to relax before you give yourself a complex."

"Visiting time is over," Madam Pomfrey announced as she materialized to give my visitors a reproachful look. "You can come back after dinner when she's released."

"You alright on your own?" Sirius asked me, ignoring the matron's attempts to shoo him away.

I nodded. Olivander had already been there the afternoon before. I had a wand again and even Stoke didn't seem stupid enough to send someone after me in the Hospital Wing during daylight. Even if he did, it wasn't like an entire mob could've gotten in. I was fine, despite what Sirius' paranoia thought.

"We'll be back this evening. Don't you dare leave before we get here," James warned me with a meaningful look as Pomfrey pushed him towards the door.

I waved them off, "Yeah, yeah. I'll be here."

Pomfrey chased them all off and I was left in silence. It'd been awhile since I was really alone and I was glad for the quiet. I didn't mind having the Marauders around as much as I thought I would. Sirius and James were both really good at entertaining me. James and I got on better than I expected, though all we really had in common was interest in Quidditch and Lily. He was smart enough not to talk about the latter. We were both Falmouth Falcons fans, though, and that was enough to start a tentative friendship.

Remus didn't talk to me too much. Neither did Peter but that was because he was terrified of me. Remus just seemed reserved. Unlike Peter, Remus talked to Lily. The problem didn't seem to be my gender. Remus was just wary of me, preferring to keep his distance. It made me wonder if part of him really thought that I was a werewolf.

I was debating between reading the textbooks Lily had brought for me or the Quidditch magazines James brought me when Stoke showed up. He slithered into the Hospital Wing like he was a snake rather than a Ravenclaw.

"You look better than the last time I saw you," he informed me with a grin that made me want to punch him. "I like the hair."

I glared at him. I was still self-conscious about my hair after A.C.E. did whatever they did to make me go bald. Even Pomfrey hadn't been able to fix it. The wisps of hair I still had left had to be shaved and my hair had to be regrown. It wasn't anywhere near as long as it'd been originally but the bald spots were gone at least.

"Sod off, Stoke, I'm not in the mood," I informed him bluntly.

"Alright, alright. I can see I'm not wanted. I'll just say my piece and leave," he held up his hands in what I suppose was intended to be a sign of surrender. "I'm glad you're doing better."

"You might be surprised how little I bloody care about how you feel," I told him shortly. "If you have something to say, spit it out and get the bloody hell out of my presence."

"You know, you're almost too pretty to have such an ugly temper," he commented, like tempting me with murder was amusing to him. "I'm here because this has gone on long enough. I'd hoped you'd have come to your senses by now. I never pegged for being daft."

"And I never pegged you for being so desperate for attention you're willing to pull this bullocks," I retorted. "It's ridiculous, Stoke. There's a war going on. You have to see that this is unnecessary, right?"

"There's a werewolf at this school," he pointed out. "We're in danger."

"No, we aren't," I insisted.

He ignored me, "Tell everyone you lied. Tell them this was all a misguided attempt to protect a werewolf _you saw_ last full moon. Tell them you were naive but you know better now. Apologize for lying and this will all be over."

I wanted to punch him. Or maybe I'd gouge his eyes out. Or I'd test out my new wand and see how many curses I could get out before Pomfrey stopped me.

"You're a deplorable, prejudiced, pathetic excuse for a person," I informed him instead of giving into my desire for violence. "I'm not giving into you or your band of brainless cronies so you can bugger off."

He clenched his jaw but still gave me a smile, "Are you sure you don't want to think about it? It's only going to get worse for you from here on out."

"I can take it." There was a conviction in my tone that wouldn't have been there before the Marauders joined the crusade. Between them, Lily, and I, though, I had no doubt that the six of us could make this work.

"You're a very thick, naive little girl." His smile was gone and there was something in his eyes that I recognized from my own reflection. Rage.

"I've been called worse. Now get the fuck away from me," I retorted stonily.

"You heard her, mate." I was surprised to hear James. He and Remus were both standing behind Stoke. James looked a tad bit murderous but Remus something that was more closely related to amazement. "Back off."

Stoke smirked, "You hire yourselves some thugs to protect you, huh Waters?"

"You're going to want to get your arse out of this Hospital Wing now or I'll show you how much of a thug I can be," James let out a dangerous snarl, his hazel eyes burning into the offending Ravenclaw.

Stoke just scoffed but still seemed to be taking James' threat to heart. He narrowed his eyes at me, "You're going to regret this, Waters. You made the wrong choice." With that lovely, ominous warning, he turned on his heels and exited the Hospital Wing.

"You alright?" James asked, his expression softening as he turned to me.

I nodded, "Right as rain. What are you two doing here? Weren't you supposed to go to your lessons? Pomfrey will be back soon and you should've be here when she gets here."

"You're bloody amazing, you know that?" Remus told me, chocolate eyes wide with wonder.

I cocked my head to the side. I didn't think I was very amazing. I mean, I was a pretty good baker and a decent student. I was pretty much aces at Defense. I didn't necessarily think that meant my praises should've been sung about absolutely amazing I was, though.

"If you're alright then we should go," James commented, giving a side glance to Remus. "We'll be back tonight. Don't let Pomfrey murder you with boredom until then, yeah? And don't give her any excuses to keep you any longer."

"Trust me, I won't." I never wanted to come to the Hospital Wing again. I wasn't sure that was a possible option with the full moon coming around but I was happy to try.

James clasped Remus on the shoulder with more force than necessarily. "Alright, Moony, let's get out of here before Pomfrey has a fit."

"Rest well, Lena," Remus nodded, sounding a little like he was still in shock. "We'll see you later."

The boys shuffled out of the Hospital Wing as I watched after them, perplexed. What was that? Remus was acting… weird. We hadn't talked much. Not at least since this whole werewolf business started. Lily and I had always found him the most approachable of the Marauders. Now I found him the most peculiar.

I shook my head, deciding that I didn't want to know. I had better things to do with my afternoon then try to hypothesize why he was acting so weird. With that thought, I picked up the Quidditch magazine James had left for me.

I was reading an exclusive interview with the Puddlemere United Keeper when Pomfrey arrived at my bedside. She announced that she wanted to examine me one more time before I was released. I easily agreed, not wanting her to come up with an excuse to postpone my release.

"So will she live?" Sirius asked, materializing at the foot of my bed as Pomfrey looked at my wand hand.

"I suppose," she replied shortly. "I see no reason to delay her release." She looked up and gave him a penetrating stare, "You make sure she gets plenty of rest and doesn't do anything too strenuous."

He nodded with mock solemnity, "Yes, ma'am."

She didn't look impressed, "Where is Miss Evans? I trust her better to follow my instructions."

"I'm here, Madam Pomfrey," Lily replied breathlessly as she followed James and Remus into the Hospital Wing. Peter trailed behind, his pudgy face red with exertion.

She looked at the growing crowd with displeasure. She usually never let a student have so many visitors but I was being released anyways. "Miss Evans, you are responsible for making sure Miss Waters takes it easy. She needs lots of rest to finish recovering."

Lily nodded, "Of course."

"Oh so you believe her but not me?" Sirius scoffed and clicked his tongue in displeasure.

"Miss Water, you are to come back to the Hospital Wing as soon as your hand begins giving you trouble again," she informed me. "Remember to do your exercises."

I grimaced. My left hand was still recovering from where my wand had splintered and scarred my palm. I would either need to get the strength back in my left hand or learn to use my right.

"Am I free to go?" I asked hopefully.

She nodded, "Yes, yes. Begone with you."

I didn't need to be told twice. I shoved the rest of my things into my bag and practically jumped out of bed. I wanted to get as far away from Pomfrey and her tonics as I could get.

Sirius took my bag from me, despite my protests. "Pomfrey said no strenuous activity," he reminded me with a grin. "Come on. Let's get you fed."

"Dinner is over," Lily pointed out as she followed behind us.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded in agreement. "But there's always food in the kitchens."

"The kitchens," Lily repeated dubiously. "You're taking her to the kitchens? That's against the rules. We're not even supposed to know where that is."

I wasn't surprised the Marauders knew where the kitchens were. "Of course they know where it is, Lils. Where do you think they got the food for all their parties?"

James beamed at me, like I was a puppy who'd just performed a trick. "Right you are."

"You're welcome to join us, Lily," Remus offered kindly.

Lily turned to me, "You don't have to do this, Lena. You don't have to let them get you into trouble, you know."

"Don't worry so much," I waved her off dismissively. "It'll be fine."

She didn't look convinced. She turned to James accusatorily, "Don't corrupt her."

I rolled my eyes, "Lily, back off, alright? He hasn't done anything to warrant the attitude. I'll see you in the Common Room later, yeah?"

She nodded sharply, "Later." She left our group and headed down the opposite end of the hallway, towards our tower.

"You stood up for me," James commented, sounding almost as awestruck as Remus had earlier that day. "You stood up for me to Lily."

"Uh yeah," I nodded slowly because I had thought that was pretty obvious. "I'm sorry she gets so neurotic when she's under stress."

"Lily's mates always hate me," he pointed out.

"No, they don't hate you," I corrected. "They just always side with Lily. Or the others did before they ran off when Stoke started all this bollocks. I figure lying to Lily and telling her I agree that you're deplorable and arrogant isn't doing anyone any favors."

His grin faltered and was replaced by a less attractive frown, "She thinks I'm deplorable?"

"No. Her opinion of you has actually gotten better since you became Head Boy," I told him, which was true. Lily at least had a speck of respect for him now.

"Really?" He asked hopefully.

I nodded.

His grin returned with extra exuberance, "You know, I think I'm going to like having you around."

A couple of students (Hufflepuffs, judging by the color of their ties) chose that moment to turn the corner, nearly bumping into Peter and James. They couldn't have been any older than Fourth Years. They looked awed to be so close to the Marauders but their expression was absolute horror when they looked at me. I didn't want to even think what kinds of horrible things Stoke and A.C.E, had spread around about me while I was in the Hospital Wing.

Sirius reacted first. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. It was an interesting gesture. It didn't just show I was under his protection but it also said something akin to friendship or affection. I hadn't been expecting that.

The Hufflepuffs scurried past us, whispering frantically. It wouldn't be long until the whole school knew I was released from the Hospital Wing. It also wouldn't have been long, though, until the word that the Marauders and I'd gotten closer had spread all over the school too.

Sirius didn't move to let go of me, even after our audience was gone. In fact, he didn't act like anything was any different. "So, Le, important question: Treacle tarts or pumpkin pasties?"


End file.
